HAPPY AUTUMN from your friends at East Mt. Airy Neighbors!

The air is getting a little crisper, energizing many of us. There are many opportunities to channel that energy into enjoyable and productive activities………

Unfortunately, some less-than-productive activities, as well. We hate to have to start off with this, but here’s an important SCAMALERT……………

He’s back. The very personable man who claims to be collecting money to support the “Mt. Airy Track Team”, which he sometimes calls the “East Mt. Airy Track Team” or the “East Mt. Airy Neighbors Track Team” or the “East Mt. Airy Girls’ Track Team”, is making the rounds again. He has had some success with this in the past, as he seems nice and is enthusiastic about this “team”.

East Mt. Airy Neighbors does not have a track team. We have investigated, we’ve done internet searches, and have made a lot of phone calls, and as far as we can tell, there is no legitimate East Mt. Airy Track Team.

We are always concerned about this sort of activity in the neighborhood. We’re particularly concerned this year, because unsuspecting and generous residents who are aware that budget cuts will impact sports in our public schools and who want to help, will open their hearts — and wallets — to this person.

If this man comes to your door, please politely decline to contribute, and call 911. The police are interested in speaking with him about his “fundraising” activities!

To counter that unpleasantness, we’ll share some exciting news about an EMAN member……..our congratulations to landscape architectMargie Ruddick, who is one of the recipients of the prestigious 2013 NationalDesign Award, which is administered annually by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. She was honored by Michelle Obama at a White House luncheon earlier this month. (She’s so modest and unassuming, we only learned about the award in this morning’s New YorkTimes.)

You may have seen Margie’s East Mt. Airy garden as part of one of MALT’s “Secret Garden” tours, or perhaps you read the article about her garden in the New York Times last year. (I’m fortunate to live across the street from her, and I get to watch the garden change with the seasons.)

SAVE THE DATE!

“PAWS on the PAVEMENT” is coming!

EMAN will be having our first community dog walk on Sunday, October 20th, from 1:00 till 3:00! We think it’ll be a fun way to meet people who share an interest in dogs, get a little exercise and enjoy the Fall beauty of the neighborhood. With our partners at Mt. Airy Animal Hospital (MAAH), we’ll be offering interesting related activities. There’ll be people who provide services (Have you met Adina Silberstein, owner of Queenie’s Pets? You’ll love her!), valuable information from the staff at the Animal Hospital (they know waymore than standard info like immunizations and flea control), vendors offering pet-related products, a professional pet photographer and a special demonstration by a gentleman who trains Search & Rescue Dogs for the Philly Police and Fire Departments.

We’ll gather at the MAAH parking area, next to and behind Holy Cross Church (114 E. Mt. Airy Ave.) at 1:00. Please note: ALL DOGS MUST BE ON LEASH!

At only a dollar a dog, this is a major bargain! (Of course, contributions to help defray expenses will be gratefully accepted, and will help us continue to do community-building events like this one! And the animal hospital would be happy to receive donations of clean used towels, sheets, etc.)

Whether you sign up ahead of time or on the day, you can buy tickets for our gift basket raffle……..sort of a doggie “basket of cheer”!

The rain date for the event is Sunday, October 27th.

Our thanks to Hakim Franklin (MAAH Administrator) for all of his hard work on this event, and to the Animal Hospital for their generosity!

It’s a yard-sale wonderland over the next few weeks in Mt. Airy! You can clean out your unwanted possessions and help a local organization by doing so. Or you can bring in a little extra cash for yourself. Or…….you can find treasures at great prices.

On October 5th, Restoration Church (Stenton Ave. at Gorgas La.) is bringing back its very popular Yard Sale, featuring food and games as well as vendors. The event is from 9:00 AM till 3:00 PM; vendors set up earlier. The rain date is the 12th. For info about tables, etc., contact Cynthia Bradley; cynbradley@aol.com or 215-242-5214.

The Cliveden Hills Ass’n will hold its 4th Annual Flea Marketon October 12th (rain date 10/13th), on the grounds of St. Therese/Holy Cross Church, 600 block East Upsal St. The market’s open from 8:00 AM till 3:00 PM, with vendor set-up at 7:00 AM. Tables are $20. For info, call 215-927-5038 or 484-469-7873.

There’ll be a Yard Sale to support the playground at HoustonSchool on October 12th from 9 – 12, (set-up starts at 8:00). Volunteers are needed to help with the event; vendors are asked to donate a portion of their sales to the Friends of Houston Playground, a group of neighbors who take care of maintenance, repairs, etc. For info or to request a table, e-mail to crystal.bianchi@gmail.com

OTHER EVENTS and ACTIVITIES:

Mutual Mt. Airy, an organization that aims to help older residents in the community “age in place”, will be holding a meeting onSeptember 30that Lovett Library (6:45 – 8:45). Topics will include membership, interest groups, services — and an important big announcement! Contact Peter Javsicas for more info: 215-247-0457 or jpj7130@gmail.com

We were happy to learn that they’ve set up an Education Action Group; that committee will meet on October 13th, from 5:00 till 7:00. Our local public schools need a lot of support. If you’re interested in working on this issue, and want to attend the meeting, contact Judy Morgan at judymorgan711@yahoo.com

The Revolutionary Germantown Festival will take place onOctober 5th, centered on the grounds of Cliveden of the National Trust, 6401 Germantown Ave. Lots of activities are planned, including the always-popular reenactment of the Battle of Germantown. The fun starts at 10 AM, and continues throughout the day, at Cliveden and at other Historic Germantown sites. For a schedule and details, visit www.freedomsbackyard.com

Also on October 5th, our partners at WMAN will hold their 2ndAnnual “Blocktoberfest”, a community event that includes a 5K walk/run, followed by block parties throughout West Mt. Airy. The opening ceremony starts at 7:45 AM at the Allens Lane train station parking lot; participants can pick up their registration packets starting at 7. For registration fees and other info, go towww.wman.net

If you were planning to attend the scheduled celebration of the return of Saturday hours to Lovett Library on October 5th, please note that the celebration has been postponed. The Library just received word that the hiring process is taking longer than expected, so they don’t know when those Saturday hours will return. But you can be sure we’ll let you know when it’s re-scheduled, because many of us were looking forward to it.

THE CHEFS ARE BACK!

The 3rd Annual “Cookin’ With WHO?” fundraiser will take place on November 7th from 6:30 till 8:30 PM this year, in the Brossman Center at the Lutheran Theological Seminary (7301 Germantown Avenue). This popular fundraiser features community chefs in a friendly competition for the “Platinum Spatula” Award. And we’re adding a “People’s Choice” Award this year.

The chefs will be representing 3 community nonprofits: EMAN,the Lutheran Seminary, and our new partner, Awbury Arboretum. Once again, Councilwoman Cindy Bass will be presenting a favorite family recipe, on behalf of all 3 organizations.

EMAN’s fabulous chefs this year are Larry DiFranco (associate broker and partner at Elfant Wissahickon Realtors), Jocie Dye(controller at Roofmeadow, but probably better known in the neighborhood as the former owner of Infusion), and making a return appearance, sports radio’s Phil “Phil from Mt. Airy” Allen (host of “Saturday Night Main Event” on TheFanatic, 97.5 FM).

Tickets are $50, and attendees receive voting tickets, unlimited beverages, and generous tasting portions of 10 delicious recipes. Additional voting tickets will be available at the event. A silent auction and raffle round out the fun. You can purchase tickets at Ltsp.edu/cookinwithwho, where you can also vote to “support a chef” by making a donation, to help her/him win! All proceeds benefit the 3 presenting organizations. For more info, call 215-248-7839.

We’re sorry to have to tell you this, but we’ve had to put our plans for a community cookbook on hold. We didn’t receive enough recipes to move forward. But we’re hoping to try it again in the future.

EMAN’s monthly meetings are open to the community. The next meeting is on Tuesday, October 1st in the EMAN Office (basement of the Wiedemann building, LTSP Campus, 7301 Germantown Ave). The Board meets in Executive Session at 7 PM, and the community is welcome to join us at 7:30. Come meet neighbors, keep up with neighborhood activities and issues, volunteer to help with a project or event, share your ideas with us.

And we always welcome your membership! Community support allows us to continue working to make our good community better. You can join at our website (www.eastmountairy.org) using PayPal, or print out a mail-in form.

It’s supposed to be a gorgeous week. We hope you’ll find time to get outdoors and enjoy it!